This invention relates to vehicles, particularly pickup trucks and Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), having a hinged tailgate that is connected to the aft end of the vehicle and is operated by an electric motor.
Pickup trucks and SUVs often have tailgates that are hinged at the bottom and connected to the aft end of the vehicle. Commonly, these tailgates are manually opened and closed to provide access to a cargo area located at the aft end of the vehicle and located between two laterally spaced walls. In the closed position, the tailgate is secured to the vehicle via fork-bolt type latches on each side of the tailgate that engage cooperative striker pins extending from the laterally spaced walls. To lower the tailgate, which is fairly heavy, an operator must first unlatch the fork-bolts by engaging a handle, then lower the tailgate to an open position, a two-handed process for most operators. This two-handed process is further complicated when the operator is carrying items, such as groceries or garment bags, as the operator has no available hands to operate the tailgate. Once the items are loaded or unloaded, the tailgate must be raised to a closed position and slammed into place such that the fork bolts securely latch to the striker pins. Consequently, the manual operation of a vehicle tailgate is inconvenient at the least and often times very difficult.
Vehicle tailgates commonly include an additional lock mechanism that must be unlocked before the tailgate can be unlatched and lowered to the open position. The lock mechanism requires added engagement by the operator, thereby adding to the inconvenience and difficulty of manually operating the tailgate.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a power operated tailgate capable of unlatching itself and moving between open and closed positions under the power of an electric motor.
The present invention provides a vehicle having a power tailgate assembly including a tailgate, a control arm, and a motor. The tailgate has an elongated channel and hinges that pivotally connect the tailgate to the vehicle for movement between an open and closed position. The control arm is pivotally connected to the vehicle about a pivot axis and has an arm section with an attachment component that couples the arm section to the elongated channel of the tailgate. The control arm also includes a gear section having gear teeth. The motor has an output gear with gear teeth that mechanically engage the gear teeth of the control arm, such that rotation of the output gear causes the control arm to pivot and move the tailgate between the open and closed positions.